America is a young country, historically a brand-spanking-new country. The mythology is young and varied. These myths are, as most myths, laced with truth. Many of these people existed, many of these events took place. Nonetheless, they are mythologized, whether their origin was the the United States or an import. They exist as national knowledge, familiar names, familiar places, vague truths instilled in every American child. They taught us the meaning of good and evil, right and wrong and in the name of all things relative we'll honor them today.